Chapter 488: Fish is so obedient! (Edited)

At first Barty Crouch Jr. suspected that this Snape at Hogwarts was probably a Voldemort spy or something.

As to why Voldemort didn't tell him, Barty Crouch Jr. didn't have any negative feelings about it, but felt that he had to behave himself so that his master would trust him more in the future.

But after watching Snape closely for a while, Barty Crouch Jr. decided that he was overthinking things.

Since Snape didn't drink as much as he did from time to time to maintain his transformation, it was unlikely that he was a spy.

Of course, it was also possible that Snape, the potions master, had developed some sort of potion to increase the time, but then again...he had the technology of magic potions, so it was unlikely that this Snape was a spy.

It couldn't be that Snape just developed this long-acting multijuice potion, and then someone else set up the formula and replaced it, could it?

But Barty Crouch Jr. couldn't just go up to Snape and ask him the truth, and... ask him why his stock of shredded dried Skins of an African tree snake had disappeared, so Barty Crouch Jr. unable to understand what was going on, had to put the matter aside for the time being.

What was more important to him was how... he could get new dried shredded Skins from an African tree snake to replenish his stock of multijuice potion.

Not that he couldn't afford it, but it was rare in England, and it was hard to find a store in England that sold dried shredded Skin of an African tree snake, unless you went to Africa to buy it from a local shaman.

Barty Crouch Jr. had two choices: leave Hogwarts at some point and buy himself Dried Shredded Skin of an African Tree Snake, or tell his master, who was hiding in his house, to find a way to get it.

Barty Crouch Jr. didn't want to bother his master with this sort of thing if he could help it, as it would make him look useless, but the first way, there was a risk that others would find out....

There was a third way, which was to control his father to buy or order something.

But the problem was that, after being surprised by Fish's siren voice at the first event, old Barty had shown signs of breaking the spell and, as a precautionary measure, had controlled old Barty to take a break from the Ministry of Magic and put him in an isolated place.

After much deliberation, Barty Crouch Jr. decided to do it himself.

The Christmas vacations would soon be here, and it would not be too much of a surprise to be absent from Hogwarts for a few days, but it would not be very acceptable for Barty Crouch Jr. to make a bad impression on the Dark Lord....

In addition to Barty Crouch, there was another person who had been distressed by the news of Rita Skeeter.

That person is Mr. Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic.

Shortly after her personal interview with Fish, Rita Skeeter published a new story in the Daily Prophet. This time, Ms. Skeeter did not forget her original intention and take another swipe at the Ministry of Magic.

The story is about two Dementor attacks on students last year that were deliberately suppressed by the Ministry of Magic, as unearthed by Fish.

In the article, Rita Skeeter, as usual, uses her sharp writing style to criticize and satirize the Ministry, and then to give Fish a bit of a reputation boost...after all, the two Dementors were fought off by Fish.

Of course, Harry's fainting spell with the Dementors was also brought up by Rita Skeeter, who once again portrayed Harry as a poor boy with a fragile psyche and received a barrage of letters of condolence...even though Harry didn't want any.

The fact that Harry had defeated the Dementors by practicing the Patronus Charm was, as expected, magnificently ignored by Skeeter.

The good news was, however, that the article was mainly aimed at the Ministry of Magic, so, apart from a few sympathy letters and occasional taunts from Slytherin students, led by Malfoy, Harry was doing quite well.

Most of the students had accepted him as champion thanks to the first event, and his best friend Ron had reconciled with him, so for Harry that was nothing compared to what had gone before.

Cornelius Fudge, on the other hand, was not as open-minded as Harry.

In the eyes of the Minister of Magic, it was Dumbledore who had instructed Fish to reveal to the press the news he had suppressed last year, in order to undermine his own authority and prepare for his future role as Minister of Magic.

He couldn't believe that a nice boy like Fish would deliberately turn on him.... He must have been instigated by that sly old Dumbledore!

Fish knew nothing of the repercussions of his interview, and if he did, he didn't care, as he went on with his leisurely, happy school life.

Especially after receiving a shorthand quill from Rita Skeeter, Fish doesn't even need to write his own assignments, he simply licks the tip of the black and white striped quill and places it vertically on top of his parchments and it automatically does it for him.

The only drawback is that Fish still has to read the assignment and give the answers before the quill starts working. But it's much more convenient than having to write your own assignments.

However, the Gryffindor girls were not so happy, as Fish's shorthand pen made him much more efficient at his assignments, which meant they had less time to spend with Fish, and for that Rita Skeeter was unknowingly hated by them.

...

"Potter! Weasley! Pay attention, please."

Professor McGonagall's irritated voice burst like a whip in the Thursday Transfiguration classroom, causing both Harry and Ron to look up.

Class was about to end, they had finished their homework, copied it into their books on the board and the bell was going to ring at any moment.

Thinking there was nothing else to do, Harry and Ron each grabbed one of Fred and George's fake wands and competed in a sword fight at the back of the class.

"Can you two behave in an age-appropriate manner?" said Professor McGonagall, giving the pair of childish behavior an angry look.

Ron and Harry hurriedly tucked their fake wands into the hole in the table and sat down.

"I have a few words for everyone," continued Professor McGonagall, after making sure everyone was listening carefully, "The Yule Ball is coming up, a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and a great opportunity to bond with our foreign guests Here's the deal, the ball is only open to students fourth year and up...but you can invite a first year student if you wish..."

Lavender Brown let out a piercing chuckle. Parvati Patil shoved her hard, and the muscles in Parvati's own face tensed as she tried desperately not to laugh out loud.

The girls turned their attention to Fish, who was sitting in a serious pose, but was actually in a daze.

?ω?

Fish and Hermione had heard about the ball from Mrs. Estella at the dress store before classes started, but Fish hadn't told the rest of the class at Hermione's request.

Now that everyone finally knew about the dance, those girls, as she expected, lusted after her cat immediately, but Hermione raised her head without hesitation and looked at the girls.

Seeing Hermione's defiant look, the other witches, though reluctant, finally withdrew their gaze.

"Put on your dress robes, the ball will be held in the Great Hall at eight o'clock on Christmas Eve and will end at twelve o'clock at night." Professor McGonagall, of course, noticed the girls' small gestures, but she didn't care and continued to tell them the time and requirements for the Yule Ball.

Finally, she warned, "I would be very sad if any Gryffindor student were to embarrass the school in any way."

But everyone was too preoccupied with the impending ball to worry, and when the bell rang, there was a lively discussion as everyone quickly gathered their things.

"Fish, and Potter...please stay for a moment, I need to say a few words to you." Professor McGonagall raised her voice and shouted above the noise.

"Fish just heard right, I didn't make trouble!"

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